Fig fruit spread by Alpe Pragas, honey-sweet and dark
The fig fruit spread by Alpe Pragas brings ripe figs to the jar as a dark, honey-sweet spread, cooked down with a little sugar, a splash of lemon juice, and apple pectin. The tiny seeds remain inside, giving the spoonful that fine crunch by which one immediately recognizes the fruit.
Fig fruit spread is the fig jam from Alpe Pragas in the Braies Valley in South Tyrol, with 75 percent fruit in a 335-gram jar. The figs come from Italy; everything else is sugar, lemon juice, and pectin from apples.
Honey-sweet and dark on white bread
A warm, almost caramel-like scent wafts from the open jar, reminiscent more of dried fruit than summer berries.
On bread, the spread tastes full and dense, with a sweetness closer to honey than sugar, and a light malty note in the background. The lemon juice provides the only bright highlight and keeps the mixture from becoming heavy.
The consistency is soft and chunky, dark to almost black, with visible pieces of fruit. The many tiny seeds crunch delicately in the mouth and make all the difference compared to any smooth jam.
On a thick slice of buttered bread, the spread feels almost like a date cream, dark and rich. Those who only know the fig dried from a Christmas bowl will find its softer and juicier side here.
The fig, a pitcher full of blossoms
Botanically speaking, the fig is an inverted inflorescence, a pitcher full of blossoms that grow inward.
What we hear crunching as seeds are actually the tiny fruits themselves, each having developed from its own blossom. This explains the unusual texture in the jar and also why a fig cannot be peeled like an apple.
It only ripens on the branch, for after harvesting it barely absorbs any more sweetness, and it only keeps for a few days. Therefore, the harvest quickly moves into the kettle, and Alpe Pragas preserves it while it is at its softest.
Why the fig needs little sugar
Hardly any other fruit brings as much natural sweetness as a fully ripe fig.
Its flesh consists largely of sugars that caramelize during the cooking process, creating that dark tone. Alpe Pragas can therefore add very little extra sugar without the spread tasting flat.
It is thickened solely with pectin from apples, which keeps the mixture soft rather than turning it into rubber. Artificial flavors and preservatives are intentionally avoided; the color comes from the fruit.
With goat cheese, blue cheese, and ham
At the breakfast table, the fig belongs on white bread, in muesli, or on a warm croissant.
However, its finest hour comes on a cheese board, alongside goat cheese, aged mountain cheese, and especially beside blue cheese, whose saltiness practically demands that sweetness. It is a classic with air-dried ham, and on grilled halloumi, it melts into a glaze.
A spoonful in gravy for duck or lamb adds both sweetness and depth, and in vinaigrettes, it takes on the role of honey. Toast a slice of white bread, spread goat cream cheese on it, add a spoonful of fig, and top with a few walnuts. For something more savory, try the Fig and Green Tomato Chutney; the entire range can be found among the fruit spreads from Alpe Pragas.
